Easily Accessing Government Services through Citizen's Charter

The services of the government of the Philippines, whether local government units, government-owned and controlled corporations, and national government agencies are rather difficult for a private individual to access and navigate. People resort into asking questions in Facebook groups, providing answers on legal questions which could be adequate or not, and be entangled with a complex set of questions. 

Rather than seeking help to online groups, I would rather find contact numbers of various government agencies and pose simple questions. If my question is too complex, I have to go direct to the location of the government agency that I need. I would also have to prepare my documents so that I will not be wasting the time of the government personnel I am asking to help.

Citizen's charter is a public and conspicuous information poster about the services of a specific department, agency, or local government office. Normally, it is posted in the front or inside the office, particularly the frontline services. It contains the name of the service, steps to achieve a specific task, timeline to finish it, and requirements needed to accomplish it. Furthermore, it would also include table of fees to pay certain procedures, certifications, and documents.

Most national government agencies have their own websites and I could easily find their citizen's charter and follow the procedure. However, in the case of local government units, while some have their websites, not everyone has their citizen's charter posted online. While preferable for it to be posted online for the digital consumption of the people online, it is not mandatory. One example is Pasig City, where I could not find their Citizen's Charter in their own website. 

What guides do I usually look in Citizen's Charter is the process for the payment of real property tax, request for tax declaration of a property, rates for various medical procedures in a specific DOH-managed government hospital, and many others.

How to find the Citizen's Charter

To find online the Citizen's Charter of a specific government agency, government-owned and controlled corporation, or local government unit, one must have good search engine skills - or rather Google Search skills. Just type the name of the office and the phrase citizen's charter, and you will have it. Furthermore, you can look for the website of the office and find in their website a link to the citizen's charter.

Update October 11, 2022 - Citizen's Charter of various offices in the Philippines are now available via https://citizenscharter.gov.ph. Some charters could be missing, and readers are encouraged to contact those on municipalities, cities, and provinces to release their own online.

Citizen's Charter of cities in Metro Manila

• Caloocan – https://caloocancity.gov.ph/services/citizen-charter
• Malabon – https://malabon.gov.ph/malabon-citizens-charter/
• Navotas – https://www.navotas.gov.ph/OurGovernment/CitizensCharter
• Valenzuela – https://www.valenzuela.gov.ph/government/citizens_charter
• Quezon City – 2020 edition https://quezoncity.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/QCLG-Citizens-Charter.pdf
• Pasig – None
• Marikina – http://loop.marikina.gov.ph:8080/disclosure/citizencharter.html
• Makati – 2021 edition https://www.makati.gov.ph/content/downloads/2/1641
• Mandaluyong – https://mandaluyong.gov.ph/updates/downloads/files/CITIZENS%20CHARTER%20.pdf
• Manila – https://manila.gov.ph/transparency-reports/citizens-charter/
• Pasay – https://www.pasay.gov.ph/Home/TransparencySeal (look for Citizen Charter)
• Pateros – none
• Paranaque – https://paranaquecity.gov.ph/?page_id=641
• Las Pinas – none
• Muntinlupa – https://www.muntinlupacity.gov.ph/?page_id=10207

Citizen's Charter of Common Philippine Government Agencies

• Philippine National Police (PNP) – https://pnp.gov.ph/citizens-charter/
• Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) – https://www.bir.gov.ph/index.php/bir-citizen-s-charter.html
• Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) – https://pao.gov.ph/page.php?id=19#:~:text=The%20Public%20Attorney%27s%20Office%20exists,the%20Constitutional%20mandate%20that%20%22free
• Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) – https://arta.gov.ph/about/citizens-charter/
• Department of Education (DepEd) – https://www.deped.gov.ph/about-deped/citizenscharter/
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – https://www.sec.gov.ph/about-us/citizens-charter/
• Bureau of Immigration (BI) – https://immigration.gov.ph/information/citizens-charter
• Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – https://www.dti.gov.ph/good-governance-program/transparency-seal/citizen-s-charter/
• National Privacy Commission (NPC) – https://www.privacy.gov.ph/citizens-charter/
• National Telecommunications Commission – https://ntc.gov.ph/citizens-charter/?doing_wp_cron=1642217517.9961390495300292968750
• Technical Evaluation and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) – https://www.tesda.gov.ph/About/TESDA/151
• Department of Agriculture (DA) – https://www.da.gov.ph/citizens-charter/
• Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) – https://psa.gov.ph/tags/citizens-charter
• Department of Transportation (DOTr) – https://dotr.gov.ph/19-about-dotc/517-citizen-s-charter.html
• Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) – https://bwsc.dole.gov.ph/homepage/dole-citizen-s-charter.html
• Land Registration Authority (LRA) – https://www.lra.gov.ph/transparency-page/14-transparency/80-citizen-s-charter.html
• Department of Agrarian Reform – https://www.dar.gov.ph/citizens-charter